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\title{An Intensive Peer Education Model in Support of University Level Scientific Computing}
\author{Kathryn D.~Huff, Anthony M.~Scopatz, Nicolas Preston, Paul P.H.~Wilson}

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\institute{The Hacker Within, 1500 Engineering Drive, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706}
\email{khuff@cae.wisc.edu}
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\section{Introduction}
The Hacker Within (THW) is a student organization which has implemented a peer-teaching model to address an unmet need for software development skills in scientific computing among undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students.  A review of a series of open curriculum intensive courses (Boot Camps) taught by the THW member students to a community of their peers is presented here, followed by recommendations for implementation.  

Research conducted at the university level increasingly requires advanced computer models, simulations, and data manipulation. However, students in scientific disciplines, such as nuclear engineering, typically lack training in the software skills with which to conduct computational research effectively. In addition to cultivating a diverse learning community of students and educators from nuclear engineering to limnology\footnote{\textbf{lim $ \cdot $ nol $ \cdot $ o $ \cdot $ gy} n. The scientific study of the life and phenomena of fresh water, especially lakes and ponds}, the THW Boot Camp model succeeds in providing time-efficient introductions to essential programming languages and tools, without turning ``biochemists and mechanical engineers into computer scientists.''\cite{wilson_software_2006}

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\section{Boot Camp Model}
The Hacker Within Boot Camps utilize a distributed development paradigm and emphasize an open, time efficient exercise driven curriculum.

THW Boot Camp curriculum development benefits from its resemblance to open source software development. THW members contribute curriculum material to a public wiki and volunteer to lead one or more hour-long lessons during the three-day long Boot Camp to improve their teaching skills.  Often, A single lesson is the collective work of many contributors. Furthermore, lecturers for each section of the bootcamp are typically self-selected.  

By making lecture videos, notes, and example exercises freely available online, THW Boot Camps implement a type of open curriculum model that is gaining worldwide acceptance. Notable examples of such open curricula include the `Open Course Ware' compendium from MIT \cite{OCW} and Salman Khan's viral `Khan Academy' lectures \cite{khan}. Web site analytics have only been available for hackerwithin.org since early 2011. However, preliminary results show significant visits from over 60 nations and indicate the power of open curriculum \cite{the.hacker.within}.

For students leading and attending the Boot Camps in real time, expediency represents a primary challenge to the model. The time intensive nature of scientific coursework limits the feasibility of formal coursework in software skills for scientists. Unfortunately it also constrains the reasonable length of a Boot Camp seeking to ameliorate that lack of formal training. A boot-camp-like intensity (thus the moniker) is in the interest of student attendees as well as student course leaders. While the first Boot Camps were conducted in two hour segments over a four day span, early feedback surveys indicated that the audience preferred longer days with a shorter total span. Thus, the Python and Software Carpentry Boot Camps were condensed to meet that preference (see Table \ref{tab:hist}).

%%% Insert a table %%%
\begin{table}[h!]
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{| l | c | c | c | r |}
    % Topic % Year % Days % Hrs per day % Attendees %
    \hline
    Topic & Year & Days & $\frac{hr}{day}$ & Attendees \\
    \hline
    Unix & 2009 & 4 & 2 & 18 \\
    C++ & 2009 & 4 & 2 & 30 \\
    Python & 2010 & 3 & 4 & 82 \\
    Software Carpentry & 2011 & 3 & 4 & 79 \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Boot Camps have been conducted in two formats.} 
  \label{tab:hist}
\end{table}

Feedback and experimentation with various teaching styles have led to the observation that exercise driven lectures effectively condense skill oriented material. Rather than a lengthy soliliquy, a single tool is described in brief and then immediately employed in a short excercise. This requires that each student be seated at a computer and ready to actively participate. In the most recent Boot Camp, the use of cross platform Ubuntu virtual machines streamlined the technical challenges that platform environment setup has the potential to present. 

\section{Observations}
Registration, feedback, and website statistics have informed observations and recommendations concerning the target audience, the appropriate level of instruction, and specific content for which an unmet need exists.

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\begin{figure}[h!]
  \begin{center}
    \includegraphics[scale=.23]{thwDepts.ps}
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  \caption{Myriad departments were represented at the Software Carpentry Bootcamp.}
  \label{fig:depts}
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Registration statistics for the Python and Software Carpentry bootcamps indicated an audience from a diverse set of research disciplines (Fig. \ref{fig:depts}). Though dominated by technical graduate students with intermediate programming skills, an appreciable number of undergraduates, professors, staff and members of the public also attended (Fig. \ref{fig:levels}). 
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%%%%%%%%%%%%%                  Levels                 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
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\begin{figure}[h!]
  \begin{center}
    \includegraphics[scale=.5]{levels.ps}
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  \caption{Registration and attendance was diverse, but dominated by graduate students.}
  \label{fig:levels}
\end{figure}
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The bootcamp participants also spanned many levels of computational prowess (Fig. \ref{fig:experience}). Skill variation of the audience presents a challenge to curriculum design. The THW model has sought to answer this by emphasizing basic skills in early lessons and presenting increasingly advanced tools in later lessons with decreasing levels of detail. Similarly, the diversity of disciplines demands that examples and explanations be presented as jargon-free as possible.  These solutions potentially sacrifice detail for clarity, expediency, and accessibility yet meet the educational goals of this model. 

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%%%%%%%%%%%%%               Experience                %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
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\begin{figure}[h!]
  \begin{center}
    \includegraphics[scale=.5]{experience.ps}
  \end{center} 
  \caption{Self reported programming experience demanded a curriculum that appealed to varied skillsets.}
  \label{fig:experience}
\end{figure}


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Finally, feedback indicated that some course content suggested greater future potential than other portions of the bootcamp. Specifically, students self-reported their likelihood of future use for various topics that were covered in these four bootcamps. Favorites included the shell, object orientation, and text editors as well as scientific, numerical, and statistical python libraries, automated documentation, version control, and build systems.
\section{Recommendations}
Based on the successes of the THW boocamp model for both student attendtees and teachers, the authors strongly recommend that similar peer-education groups be implemented at other institutions.  Evidence for the bredth of impact of these bootcamps has been demonstrated above.  Additionally, anecdotal knowledge indicates that all students involved become more effective and productive when they return to their respective disciplines.  In addition to further bootcamps, future work will attempt to develop metrics by which the productivity increases may be measured.
\section{Acknowledgements}
This work is the result of the unparalleled dedication and enthusiasm of these authors as well as fellow founders Milad Fatenejad, Kyle Oliver, and Matthew Terry. Other noteworthy contributors to these efforts include Matthew McCormick, Rachel Slaybaugh, Matthew J.~Gidden, Aronne Merrelli, Kurt Smith, Jim Porter and Greg Wilson. Finally, our activities have been sponsored by the Associated Students of Madison, the Wisconsin Experience Grant, and generous benefaction from the office of the CIO of the University of Wisconsin.
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